This episode we are thrilled to have Allie Felker on the podcast! Allie Felker is an activist and podcaster who joins us to talk about the 1987 classic, Moonstruck starring Cher and Nicholas Cage. Be sure to check out the links below for Allie’s podcast The Mourning Dove as well as to follow her work with Push for Empowered Pregnancy.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mourning-dove/id1562508342

https://www.pushpregnancy.org/

Got questions or comments for us? You can email them to [email protected] or DM us on twitter @filmoptimists. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for more content.

In this episode, Megan and Seth do a deep dive into the sea-faring tale of The Lighthouse, an A24 classic directed by Robert Eggers. The pair discuss what the film did for them, their opinions on studio A24 in general, and what they’re looking forward to from the studio moving forward.

Got questions or comments for us? You can email them to [email protected] or DM us on twitter @filmoptimists. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for more content.

With the Oscars coming up we’ve been reflecting on our favorite movies we saw last year. In doing so we realized some of the films that left the biggest impact on us weren’t new releases. So, in keeping up with our tradition of celebrating film as a whole rather than only focusing on newer films, we will be listing our favorite films we saw last year regardless of when they came out.

What made it to your Top 5 in 2021? Drop us a line at [email protected] or @filmoptimists on IG and Twitter!

In this episode Megan and Seth turn their gaze towards modern cinema and discuss 2021’s Pig starring Nicholas Cage. Cage is excellent and reserved in this somber examination of grief set against the backdrop of Portland’s high culinary world and its seedy underbelly.

In this second part of Megan and Seth’s conversation with Riley on Tarkovsky’s Stalker (1979), the gang discuss ending theories of the film, whether or not it can even be labeled as “Sci-Fi” in the first place, and they all answer the question: would you go into the Room?

We certainly had a blast talking with Riley, who is an absolute podcast natural. We look forward to working with him again on a future episode. In the meantime, you can check out Riley’s written work on his website, www.rileygerberick.com and on Twitch/Twitter @mongorific. 

New year, new voice! That’s right, Optimists; on this episode Megan and Seth welcome their first guest! Friend and writer Riley Gerberick is here to join our discussion about Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 Soviet Sci Fi film Stalker. The film follows a guide leading two men through a dangerous zone to a room (of possible alien nature) that will supposedly grant them their deepest desire. Despite the simple plot the film raises several complicated philosophical questions. There’s a lot to talk about with this one so we’re splitting this up into two episodes, part 2 will be coming soon. 

Got questions or comments for us? You can email them to [email protected] or DM us on twitter @filmoptimists. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for more content.

Happy Holidays, Optimists! This episode Megan and Seth are back to discussing world cinema with an alternative holiday classic, Tokyo Godfathers. The film follows a ragtag trio of homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. The film was directed by the late anime legend Satoshi Kon. 

In this episode, Megan and Seth discuss a piece of film criticism. The essay “Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny”, by Raquel S. Benedict addresses depictions of bodies and sexuality in film, particularly how this has changed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

In this episode Megan and Seth discuss classic Australian mystery film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. The film revolves around a sudden disappearance of multiple people in rural Australia. The film was instrumental in bringing greater worldwide attention to Australian cinema, and to the hosts’ own film repertoire.